


Like Electricity

by LadyKnightOfHollyrose



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Ballet, Alternate Universe - Never Met, Fluff, Gen or Pre-Slash, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-12
Updated: 2015-05-12
Packaged: 2018-03-30 05:19:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3924340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyKnightOfHollyrose/pseuds/LadyKnightOfHollyrose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Despite having lived in Australia for almost a decade, Rin doesn’t glance twice at the Sydney Opera House until Gou suddenly decides that they have to check it out the next time she visits him.</p>
<p>Because he is undoubtedly one of the best brothers ever (despite the distance between them), Rin humours her.</p>
<p>Or, Rin and Gou go to see the ballet. AU, Oneshot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like Electricity

Despite having lived in Australia for almost a decade, Rin doesn’t glance twice at the Sydney Opera House until Gou suddenly decides that they have to check it out the next time she visits him.

Because he is undoubtedly one of the best brothers ever (despite the distance between them), Rin humours her.

He leaves choosing the event they attend to Gou and isn’t particularly surprised when her eyes sparkle at him in their next Skype call and tells him that they’re going to see the ballet. 

Just this once, he refrains from poking fun at her enthusiasm for muscles and speaks to his coach (who knows a guy) to arrange for some decent tickets. And  _maybe_  a meet and greet, because he is  _just_  that good.

He’s feeling pretty proud of himself when his sister finally arrives and he’s able to whisk her away to the opera house. The look of delight when Gou sees that they’ll be seeing Sleeping Beauty from a  _box_  is definitely worth how difficult keeping the surprise to himself for the past couple of months has been.

While Rin can’t say he’s ever had a particular interest in going to the theatre, he can’t help but smile at the way Gou is bouncing in her seat slightly, chattering away until the lights are dimming and she’s almost  _out_  of her seat as she leans forwards in anticipation.

As long as he can keep his eyes open for the whole thing, Rin thinks he should be okay.

As it turns out, however, he needn’t have worried.

Rin’s absorbed in the narrative from the start; admittedly the reason he’d chosen Sleeping Beauty was to ensure that he’d be able to follow the familiar plot. It’s not really the plot that is keeping him so riveted though.

It’s the poise of the dancers as they flow across the stage, the grace of their movements as they tell the tale with their bodies. It’s the  _emotion_  he catches across each member of the troupe’s features and the way that every movement is so precisely calculated while still looking completely effortless.

He watches the delicate hand gestures that seems as though they could cut through water with ease, and well, Rin can;t help but liken it to the total freedom _he_  experiences while swimming.

Stil, he knows he’s  _really_  hooked when he realises that his eyes seem to be following one figure in particular.

Rin has never claimed to be particularly knowledgeable about ballet - or any kind of dancing that doesn’t come down to shuffling and flailing slightly in a club while holding a beer - but even he can tell that the Prince? He’s  _good_.

And if the announcement before the show had begun is anything to go by, the Prince currently on stage is actually the understudy.

What Rin can’t fathom is  _why_.

There’s a slight roughness to his gestures, a little sharpness that makes it seem as though he’s moving a little differently to the rest of the troupe that really suits the character he’s portraying.

But it’s not only his technical ability that’s caught his eye.

The Prince has a face whose expressiveness could probably surpass) Rin’s own.

His eyes are wide, almost childlike, and his brows seem to droop down into a gentle expression that Rin is sure has people swooning in their seats. He’s just thinking that the man probably wouldn’t be able to bring himself to hurt a fly when he’s forced to swiftly revise the initial impression. Because it’s time for the Prince to save his princess, and it makes his face come  _alive_.

Those forest green eyes that were soft as marshmallows melting in hot chocolate just moments before are now set ablaze. There’s a strength in the line of his shoulders, a tilt of his chin, that Rin certainly hadn’t seen there earlier.

The lycra of his costume doesn’t leave much to the imagination and Rin can’t help but appreciate the way the Prince’s biceps bunch as he executes a smooth lift; the way his back seems to  _ripple_  as they spin in place. Because while Rin isn’t quite the muscle enthusiast that his sister is (and a quick glance to his side confirms that Gou is in raptures), he does have eyes, after all.

Rin finally drops his last surprise on Gou as the rest of the audience are starting to make their way to the exits; Gou launches herself at him, and Rin barely manages to stay upright. He feels a grin stretch across his lips at her excitement; can’t help but feel a little of that excitement bubble inside  _him_  as well as an usher collects them from their box to take them backstage.

They’re lead through the corridors of the Opera House with actual contest winners and are ushered through doors to a small lounge with fairly plush chairs, where they are asked to wait.

Gou engages the equally excitable boy who is perched next to her in an enthusiastic discussion about who amazing the show had been. And while the boy is initially too dazzled by the force of Gou’s smile to properly retaliate at first, they soon engage in some good natured bickering over who loved the production more.

It’s about five minutes later that Gou and Rin bid the boy and his mother goodbye as they are lead from the room to take promotional photographs with the cast.

Gou is practically vibrating in her seat again by this point, gushing about the performance - and, of course, the perform _ers_  - when the double doors are inching open once more, just wide enough for one person to sheepishly shuffle through the gap.

Rin looks up from just past Gou’s ear (where he’s been staring in a valiant effort to keep a straight face a his sister’s praise slides from technical and coherent to the realms of ‘Rin I  _can’t_ ’). His breath catches.

Because there in the doorway, looking like he’s not quite sure what to do wiith himself, is ‘Prince Philip’ himself.

“Hi!” The Prince’s voice is a little at odds with his solid build, gentle and lilting. “Um, if you’d like to follow me I can show you around a little as the others finish up with the promo photos?” His English is slightly accented and he stumbles over the odd word here and there.

Instead of blurting out how cute he thinks the guy is, Rin nods in acquiescence and holds out a hand for the man to shake. “Thanks. I’m Rin Matsuoka. This is my younger sister, Gou.”

The hand that meets his is, unsurprisingly, larger than his own. As they clasp hands, however, Rin notices how rough they are for a guy who performs such a delicate dance.

“I’m Ta- Makoto Tachibana. It’s a pleasure to meet you both.” The Prince - Makoto - says with a smile, offering Gou his hand up for what turns out to be a far more energetic shake.

“Let’s go, Tachibana-san,” Gou cheers warmly, switching to Japanese.

Makoto blinks, nonplussed, before breaking out into a grin that has his cheeks dimpling and his eyes sparkling.

He pushes the door open and leads them further down the corridor, waving an ID cart before a sensor to allow them access to areas usually restricted from the public.

“It’s so nice to hear some Japanese after so long,” he’s saying as Gou nods along sympathetically. “My English has improved so much since I first got here, but I definitely still have a long way to go…”

He scratches the back of his neck, looking abashed.

Rin clears his throat. “I don’t think you’re doing too badly.”

He sees Gou’s brows rise from the corner of his eye - her English is definitely better than Makoto’s but Rin is still always picking at her grammar and teasing her into better pronunciation - and decides to swiftly change the subject before she can do anything with the sly look in  _her_  eye. Rin completely misses the slight flush that dusts Makoto’s cheeks at the assurance.

(Gou doesn’t.)

“So how long have you been over here?”

“It’s been almost a year and a half now,” Makoto says cheerfully. “I entered competitions while I was still in Japan, and luckily managed to win one. From there I started getting noticed enough that I had the opportunity to compete abroad, and get recruited.”

As Makoto navigates the corridors, greeting his colleagues as he shows Rin and Gou one of the unused dressing rooms and the spare costumes, Rin can’t help but think it probably had very little to do with luck and a  _lot_  to do with skill. That, and he was pretty sure it couldn’t have been as easy as Makoto was making it out to be.

Still, he bites his tongue and chuckles along with Makoto as Gou admires the delicate stitching of a particularly ornate dress.

Finally, Makoto ushers them through another set of doors until they’re back in the auditorium. Only now, Rin and Gou are on the stage too.

The change in perspective is enough to silence the siblings for a few moments as they look out to the now empty audience in wonder.

Gou soon finds her voice again as she stares down into the pit, where the orchestra are still packing up, calling down to them to say hi and then shower them in praise. 

Rin stays where he is, staring out to the audience, and wonders if the next time he’ll feel like this will be  _his_  performance when he’s finally competing in the Olympics. If he closes his eyes, he can almost smell the chlorine of the pool in the air, the thrill of competition run through his veins and the immense pressure of being the centre of attention.

He lets out a breath as he turns back, and it seems that the rest of the cast (and the competition winner from earlier) have re-emerged from their photo session. His sister is, of course, already over there engaging several of them in a deep conversation about training regimens and physiotherapy.

Makoto, however, is still standing next to Rin.

Rin looks up to meet his eyes; his gaze is curious, but not intrusively so, and the way his lips curl at the corners has a softer edge than any of the smiles he’s seen tonight.

Rin grins back, letting his eyes settle on his sister again. “Siblings, eh?” is all he says, and he hears Makoto hum from beside him.

“I’m sure yours would probably get along very well with mine. Especially my sister.”

“Miss them?”

Makoto sighs. “Of course. But when they’re so proud of how far I’ve come, it just makes me want to go even further. You know?”

“Yeah.” Because Rin knows  _exactly_  what he means; it’s part of the reason he works so hard and is so inclined to indulge Gou’s every whim when she visits, after all.

Before he can think better of it, Rin clears his throat to catch Makoto’s attention (which had strayed back over to the group at the back of the stage where Gou is cajoling everyone she can into a group selfie).

“I know you’re probably busy enough as it is but. If you wanted to practice your English, and have a familiar face around, we could maybe meet up if you wanted?”

Rin can’t help but wince internally at how smooth that  _wasn’t_ , and holds his breath.

“You wouldn’t mind?” 

The way Makoto’s whole face has lit up makes heat crawl from the tips of Rin’s ears down to his  _neck_. “Well, us hard working big brothers have to stick together, right?” He bumps their shoulders together lightly. “I’ve got your back.”

Makoto’s eyes crinkle around the edges, and the way they  _gleam_  at Rin has a swell of hope rising in his throat.

Gou, of course, chooses the exact moment that Makoto does to respond to shout over everyone, “Oh my god, you can get his number later Rin! You guys need to get into the shot!”

Rin groans,a hand rising from his side to smack into his forehead. Because  _what_  had he done to deserve this?

He’s still stewing in his embarrassment as they traipse over to the group, and just before they part ways to take their positions to take the picture, Makoto knocks his own shoulder lightly into Rin’s side with a grin.

“Siblings, eh?”

**Author's Note:**

> Title is a quote from Billy Elliot (which I have yet to see orz)
> 
> Please take the stuff about ballet, the opera house etc. in this fic with a grain of salt as I know very little about either, and admittedly only spent a little time on research for this fic (which is unbeta’d as usual). If you do, however, find any mistakes feel free to let me know and I’ll try and correct them!
> 
> I’ve been planning/writing this for absolutely ages - I’ve wanted to write Ballet Dancer!Makoto since my sister and I went to the ballet here and my sister (who is a physiotherapist) spent the whole time gushing about muscles in a way extremely reminiscent of Gou. 
> 
> I actually found [this article](http://www.post-gazette.com/theater-dance/2012/10/28/Japanese-ballet-dancers-embracing-Pittsburgh/stories/201210280171) pretty interesting while I was looking stuff up about ballet (initially I’d been looking at ballet companies in Japan before I decided to set it in Australia).
> 
> As for why Makoto wasn’t in the promo pics (which I couldn’t find an appropriate place to slip into the fic), it’s because he’s the understudy. While their main Prince is injured, he’s still there so he’s the one in the official competition pics being published places.


End file.
